Lights Out

Get a Glimpse of the ‘Great American Eclipse’

Dickinson’s Department of Physics & Astronomy will host a viewing event for the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the observation deck on the roof of Tome Hall.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon partly or completely covers the sun, as viewed from Earth. Though Carlisle, Pa., will not experience a total solar eclipse, about 80 percent of the sun will be covered at close to 2:37 p.m. on Aug. 21. The eclipse will begin in Carlisle at roughly 1:16 p.m. and last for about 2 hours, 42 minutes. A total solar eclipse will be visible in the “path of totality,” which crosses the country in a roughly 70-mile-wide strip from Oregon to South Carolina.

Dickinson will have solar projection devices set up for safe viewing of the eclipse, and attendees may bring their own eclipse-viewing glasses. Solar projection is the safest way to view partial eclipses. The only safe way to look directly at the partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun.